film_vaultfandomcom-20200214-history
Glory
Glory is a 1989 American war film. Synopsis Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates. Plot During the American Civil War, Captain Robert Shaw, injured at Antietam, is sent home to Boston on medical leave. Shaw accepts a promotion to colonel commanding the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first all-black regiments in the Union Army. He asks his friend, Cabot Forbes, to serve as his second in command, with the rank of major. Their first volunteer is another friend, Thomas Searles, a bookish, free African-American. Other recruits include John Rawlins, Jupiter Sharts, Silas Tripp, and a mute teenage drummer boy. The men learn that, in response to the Emancipation Proclamation, the Confederacy has issued an order that all black soldiers will be returned to slavery. Black soldiers found in a Union uniform will be executed as well as their white officers. They are offered, but turn down, a chance to take an honorable discharge. They undergo rigorous training with Sergeant-Major Mulcahy, which Shaw realizes is to prepare them for the challenges they will face. Tripp goes AWOL and is caught, Shaw orders him flogged in front of the troops. He learns that Tripp left to find shoes to replace his worn ones; his men are being denied supplies. He confronts the base's racist quartermaster on their behalf. Shaw also supports them in a pay dispute, as the Federal government pays black soldiers $10, not the $13 per month white soldiers earn. When the men begin tearing up their pay stubs in protest of the unequal treatment, Shaw tears up his own pay stub in support of their actions. In recognition of his leadership, Shaw promotes Rawlins to the rank of Sergeant-Major. Once the 54th completes its training, they are transferred under the command of General Charles Harker. On the way to South Carolina they are ordered by Colonel James Montgomery to sack and burn Darien, Georgia. Shaw initially refuses to obey an unlawful order, but agrees under threat of having his troops taken away. He continues to lobby his superiors to allow his men to join the fight, as their duties to date have involved manual labor for which they are being mocked. Shaw finally gets the 54th into combat after he confronts Harker and threatens to report the illegal activities he has discovered. In their first battle at James Island, South Carolina, early success is followed by a confrontation with many casualties. The Confederates are defeated and retreat. During the battle, Thomas is wounded but saves Tripp. Shaw offers Tripp the honor of bearing the regimental flag in battle. He declines not believing the war will result in a better life for slaves. General George Strong informs Shaw of a major campaign to secure a foothold at Charleston Harbor. This involves assaulting Morris Island and capturing Fort Wagner, whose only landward approach is a strip of open beach; a charge is certain to result in heavy casualties. Shaw volunteers the 54th to lead the charge. The night before the battle the black soldiers conduct a religious service, and several make emotional speeches to inspire the troops, and to ask for God's help. On their way to the attack, the 54th is cheered by the same Union troops who had scorned them earlier. The 54th leads the charge on the fort suffering heavy casualties. At night the bombardment continues, forestalling progress. Attempting to encourage his men, Shaw is killed. Tripp lifts the flag rallying the soldiers to continue the charge. He is shot but holds up the flag until he dies. Forbes takes charge, and the soldiers are able to break through the fort's outer defenses. However, Charlie Morse is killed and Thomas is wounded. At the end of the battle it is implied that Forbes, Rawlins, Thomas, Jupiter, and the two Color Sergeants were killed by canister shot. The morning after the battle, the beach is littered with bodies of Union soldiers; the Confederate flag is raised over the fort. The dead Union soldiers are buried in single mass grave, with Shaw and Tripp's bodies next to each other. Closing text reveals Fort Wagner was never taken by the Union Army. However, the courage demonstrated by the 54th resulted in the Union accepting thousands of black men for combat, and President Abraham Lincoln credited them with helping to turn the tide of the war. Symbolism of Jamal (the goat) Jamal (the goat) is an enduring symbol of the 54th: initially uninvited and alone -- the only of his kind -- but persistent and loyal. In effect, he was also a therapy animal who brought consolation to the men in the midst of their trials and tribulations. However, it is also possible that the goat is representative of the outsider/other nature of the 54th, characterizing how little they knew about the military and how little the military (representative of the US government) knew about them. In particular, Jamal may be an allusion to the Islamic heritage of many of the men, and may have been shown only in a limited number of scenes because he became part of a Ramadan celebration with the 54th’s camp (probably on Eid al-Fitr on March 22, 1863 -- just after the men were first mustered on March 13 of that year). Jamal’s marginalization within the film -- unnamed and unmentioned outside of brief visual appearances -- furthers his symbolic importance as a person/group previously unrecognized, but now widely admired. In addition, Jamal’s presence in the film opens opportunity to consider how animals are often treated in a manner similar to enslavement by humans. Animals’ sense of agency and intelligence goes widely questioned, and as a result they are put under the control of "higher" animals/races. That Jamal only appears on a leash/tether in the film goes to emphasize this comparison further. In other words, even though the men of the 54th had never owned slaves, they were still part of a larger social phenomenon of control and exploitation. In this sense, Jamal foreshadows the failed “next chapter” of U.S. history commonly referred to as Reconstruction and the failure for most human societies to have an integrated view of all life that supposes rights for animals and nature. Similar to the failure of the U.S. to “reconstruct” after the Civil War, non-Indigenous cultures have failed to balance their demands for goods and services with the limitations of finite resources. The silencing and implied destruction of Jamal is analogous to how societies silence their unsustainability and destroy the ecosystems and natural environments on which they depend. He disappeared from the movie because he was one of the early animal test subjects for a primitive version of the super soldier serum (the same one Captain America took). Unfortunately, concepts of technology and medicine were also primitive back then. the details of the experiment are included in the mueller report, but are also harm to ongoing matter and not common knowledge to the public. He went M.I.A five years after the movie was released and was found in Tahiti. The super soldier program was terminated (as well as the goat) until WWII when it was reopened and tested on Private Rogers. The project was deemed successful but no longer required. In today's political situation we wait for the day our lord and savior *screams* returns to this earth, save those deserving and send off the wicked to the underworld (hell). Then we will all be in peace (except for the wicked, there in hell), there will be no life, there will be no death. Only peaceful existence dictated by our lord and savior, the goat who is more, the goat master, it, he who has many names, the nameless, these are some of the names of *screams*. Today I have laid before you both life and good, both ill and death (actual bible quote from genesis) hoping that you will bare testament for our master *screams*. Cast Category:1989 films Category:American films Category:Historical films Category:War films Category:Drama films Category:Films starring Matthew Broderick Category:Films starring Morgan Freeman Category:Films starring Denzel Washington Category:Films starring Cary Elwes